The good news in the injury report for the Houston Texans this week is that star running back Arian Foster will return to the field this weekend after re-aggravating his hamstring in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. Foster sat out Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, and Ben Tate filled in for him admirably running for 82 yards on 19 total carries.
The bad news for Arian Foster is that he could not be returning for a worse game. The Houston Texans will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4. This is not a juicy match up for Foster, as the Steelers are traditionally one of the best defenses in the National Football League against the run. The other bad news for Foster is that while he his hamstring has healed relatively well, Coach Gary Kubiak indicated in a press conference on Thursday that Foster will not have a full work load on Sunday against the Steelers. The Texans coaching staff do not want to risk further injury to their star running back, and will likely have more success throwing the ball than running it on the ground.
Backup running back Ben Tate was listed on the injury report this week with a back/hip issue. He practiced in full on both Thursday and Friday of this week, and the Texan’s coaching staff expects him to be a full go this weekend against the Steelers. Tate will serve as Arian Foster’s backup, and will likely receive roughly 10 carries this weekend when Foster comes out of the game. Again, as with Foster, do not expect a lot of production from Tate this weekend as the Steelers defense is very stout against the run.
Wide receiver Jacoby Jones was limited in practice on Thursday as well for the Texans. Jones is likely to practice on Friday, and the coaching staff expects him to be active for the game on Sunday. Jones has been relatively quiet this season, and last week against the Saints, he only caught one pass for 19 total yards. The Houston Texans will likely attack the Steelers through the air, so expect Jones to have a better stat line this week.
Wide receiver Kevin Walter was limited in practice on Thursday with an apparent shoulder injury. There is chance that Walter might be limited on Friday as well, but the Texans expect him to be healthy and play on Sunday against the Steelers. Walter has also not been very productive this season so far. Most of the passing game has gone to super receiver Andre Johnson. Walter looks to add to the four catches that he has on the season.
The good news for the Houston Texans is that both Andre Johnson and quarterback Matt Schaub have both remained healthy this year. Despite Johnson being one of the best receivers in the league, one of the knocks on him is that he usually misses a game or two due to a nagging ankle or foot injury. With these guys continuing to be healthy, the Houston Texans have a great shot of winning the AFC South.
